As the world continues to spin on its axis, you can rest assured the city of Orlando will be in perpetual growth mode. Attracting more than 57 million visitors in 2012, this central Florida city ranks as the most visited tourist destination in America. Orlando is home to seven of the top 10 theme parks in the world, but you don’t have to be a fan of Mickey Mouse or Harry Potter to enjoy the city. More than 5 million business travelers descend on Orlando each year for meetings and conventions.

Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center ranks second in the country in terms of exhibition space and is the largest convention center in the world to receive LEED Gold certification. Construction is under way to give the building a five-year, $187 million facelift that includes adding a ballroom, placing comfortable furniture throughout the facility and improving wireless capability.

There are 17,000 hotel rooms within walking distance of the convention center and many entertainment options on International Drive, like a new KINGS Bowl featuring 22 bowling lanes, four billiards tables, a full-service restaurant, an outdoor bocce ball court, weekend disc jockeys and dancing. A new entertainment complex on International Drive, The Orlando Eye, will open in segments throughout 2014 and 2015. Constructed around a 425-foot-high Ferris wheel, the new facility will house the Sea Life Aquarium and Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, along with restaurants and shopping.

Travelers might head to Orlando for business meetings and a round of golf, but shopping is quickly becoming a favorite activity. There are a dozen malls and outlet centers within a 20-minute radius of downtown Orlando, including major department stores like Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s, along with many boutique designer brand stores like Giorgio Armani, Burberry, Chanel and Dior. Orlando Premium Outlets recently added The Promenade, a 110,000-square-foot expansion that includes Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th and 12 more shops.

Orlando’s multitude of cultural offerings also surprises visitors. The city is home to the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Orlando Ballet, Orlando Repertory Theatre and the wonderful art collection found at the Cornell Fine Art Museum in neighboring Winter Park. This coming November, a $429 million arts center, the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, will make its debut in downtown Orlando. The building will be the new home of Broadway Across America and the Orlando Ballet and will house three theaters, an outdoor plaza and a banquet room.

Dr. Phillips Center’s plaza and banquet room are ideally suited for a nighttime event if you tire of the meeting rooms at the convention center. VIP groups can also take over the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort; get a backstage safari at Disney’s Animal Kingdom; slide down a waterslide at SeaWorld’s Waterpark, Aquatica; or get a private tour of the space shuttle Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center. Try replicating those unique experiences in any other city in the world!

Killer whales at Sea World © James Elliott | Dreamstime.com

Of course, it’s hard to leave the kids behind when you head to Orlando on business. Walt Disney World recently opened Princess Fairytale Hall as part of its New Fantasyland expansion, where kids can meet Cinderella, Rapunzel and other Disney princesses in the Castle Courtyard. The final phase of New Fantasyland, the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom history, will be the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Coaster, set to open this summer. Other exciting news from Walt Disney World is an Avatar-inspired landscape set to debut in 2017 in Animal Kingdom; expect to find floating mountains and bioluminescent rainforests.

The other theme parks in town try to keep pace with Disney. SeaWorld Orlando, celebrating its 50th anniversary, just debuted its biggest expansion in company history — Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin, allowing guests to explore a penguin colony. Universal Orlando opened The Simpsons-themed area, Springfield, where you can go to Moe’s Tavern and order Duff beer. Adrenalin junkies will want to try the new 3D ride, Transformers. LEGOLAND Florida will debut DUPLO Valley this summer, a new farm-themed attraction including a train, a mini-tractor and a water play area geared to toddlers.

“We’re continuing to add more hotel rooms,” says Danielle Courtenay, chief marketing officer, Visit Orlando. “Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort is soon to be the fourth and largest on-site hotel at Universal, and the Four Seasons Resort Orlando will open this summer.”

The Four Seasons’ new Orlando property opens within the gates of the Walt Disney World Resort. Kids will love the water slides, lazy river, climbing wall and activity center on an island built for them. Parents can unwind on the links of the Tom Fazio-designed championship golf course or sip a cocktail by the adults-only pool. At night, head to the rooftop steakhouse to see the fireworks display.

If you’re looking for a more peaceful retreat, consider The Alfond Inn in the quaint neighborhood of Winter Park. Open last August, the 112-room boutique hotel includes the farm-to-table Hamilton’s Kitchen restaurant; an outdoor pool and fitness center; 10,000 square feet of flexible meeting space; and more than 100 pieces of contemporary art on display. Winter Park is also home to James and Julie Petrakis’ The Ravenous Pig, a 2014 James Beard Award semifinalist for best chef in the south.

Known primarily for its citrus groves prior to the opening of Walt Disney World in 1971, Orlando emerged as a world-class city more than capable of accommodating the large influx of business and leisure travelers. Venture to Orlando today and you’ll find far more than theme parks — culture, fine food, shopping and an array of resorts, all located in a sublime climate that never utters the words “polar vortex.”

SCENIC DRIVES

With its chain of lakes attracting Northeasterners for more than a century, Winter Park, only a 15-minute jaunt to the northeast from the hustle and bustle of Orlando, is the perfect place to explore.

Cruise down East Morse Boulevard and you’ll find estates on the shores of Lake Oseola and the manicured grounds of Rollins College, all shaded under towering trees.

Then drive Park Avenue through historic downtown. South Park Avenue, bordered by Central Park, is home to high-end boutique stores. Continue on North Park Avenue to find The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, home to an extensive collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany, including stained-glass windows Tiffany created for the chapel at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago.